A Worship That Magnifies God

A WORSHIP THAT MAGNIFIES GOD—Luke 1:39-56

Proposition: A worship that magnifies God is one filled with great anticipation, grand admiration and glorious adoration of God.

Objective: My purpose is to challenge people to experience a more meaningful worship encounter with the Lord.

INTRODUCTION:

“The Sound of Music” is a classic as a film. It starts with Julie Andrews standing on a beautiful mountain with her arms stretched out, twirling around as she sings, and “The hills are alive with the sound of music. She plays the part of a woman who is so full of joy and happiness that she can’t restrain the music that is in her heart. Today, we are going to look at two other women are so full that they can’t help but sing. Theirs is a worship that magnifies God.

John Calvin stated: “Nearly all wisdom we possess, that is to say, true and sound wisdom, consists of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves.” Martyn Lloyd Jones said that the indictment of the evangelical church, is that we do not know God. Our worship needs to be God-focused, not man-centered.

Here Luke puts the spotlight on two Godly women. They are Elizabeth, the soon-to-be—mother of John the Baptist, and Mary, the mother-to-be of the Messiah, who were truly great and Godly women. Both were humble women of no social or economic standing. Elizabeth was the wife of an obscure priest. Mary was a humble peasant girl, who did not have any social standing due to her parentage or class, nor even the dignity of Elizabeth and Zacharias. Yet the worship of both of these women is such that they are models for all true disciples of our Lord.

James Packer states. “To worship God is to recognize His worth or worthiness; to look God-ward, and to acknowledge in all appropriate ways the value of what we see. The Bible calls this activity “glorifying God” or “giving glory to God,” and views it as the ultimate end, and from one point of view, the whole duty of man.”

I. GREAT ANTICIPATION (vvs. 39-41) “The babe leaped in her womb”—When Elizabeth greeted Mary and recognized the Messiah in Mary’s womb they were filled with the Holy Spirit and with a joyful anticipation of the fulfillment of God’s promise to give a Savior.

1. Journey (v. 39) “Mary got ready and hurried”—Zechariah and Elizabeth lived in an unidentified town in the hill county of Judea approximately 65 miles from Mary’s house in Nazareth of Galilee. Leaving Nazareth, Mary journeyed to the village located in the hill country in southern Judea, a journey requiring four or five days.

2. Joy (v. 40) “greeted Elizabeth”—Note the joy of the 2 expectant mothers. The mother of the one destined to prepare the way for the Messiah joined her unborn child in honoring the person of the 1 selected by God to become the Savior’s mother. We are not told why Mary went to visit Elizabeth at this time. It may have been to avoid the scandal which would inevitably arise in Nazareth when her condition became known. If this is so, then the welcome given by Elizabeth and the kindness shown would have been doubly sweet.

3. Jump (v. 41) “The babe leaped in her womb”--The coming of Mary brought a reaction from John in Elizabeth’s womb. The Messiah’s forerunner gave testimony to the Messiah even before he was born. The angel had predicted to Zacharias that his baby would be filled with the Holy Spirit even from the womb (v. 15).

Illus: “True worship doesn’t depend on preacher or place, but on the attitude of the heart.”

II. GRAND ADMIRATION (vvs. 42-45) “Blessed are you among woman and…the fruit of your womb!” Speaking by special inspiration,

Elizabeth saluted Mary as “the mother of my Lord.” There was not a trace of jealousy in her heart; only joy and delight that the unborn baby would be her Lord. Mary was blessed among women in that she was given the privilege of bearing the Messiah. The fruit of her womb is blessed in that He is Lord and Savior. Jesus existed from all eternity whereas Mary was a finite creature with a definite date when she began to exist. She was the mother of Jesus only in His Incarnation.

1. Proclamation (v. 42) “Blessed are you among women”— It was a moment of ecstatic excitement. “Blessed are you” is an equivalent for lit., “well spoken of” or “most blessed are you.” 2. Privilege (v. 43) “Why is this granted to me?” This proclaims the exalted privilege of Mary. Elizabeth marveled at the grace that allowed her a role in God’s great plan. She knew God owed her nothing: but she also knew that God had mercifully given her much.